It’s not that Sam Bennett has flown under the radar — anyone who knows anything about junior hockey knows Bennett could well be the first overall pick Friday night in the NHL draft.

It’s just that Bennett hasn’t stolen the headlines, hasn’t made himself a lock to go on top.

For example, the year Bennett was drafted into the OHL, ninth overall to the Kingston Frontenacs, was the year everyone was talking about Connor McDavid, who went first. Any talk about Bennett was about how he’d do without McDavid, as the two were teammates in minor midget before making it to the OHL.

But if there’s anybody who knows how greatness can fly under the radar, it is the man who drafted Bennett: former Maple Leaf Doug Gilmour.

Gilmour’s skills had long been under-appreciated in the NHL until he blossomed as a point-a-game centre four years after he was drafted by St. Louis. And he recognized Bennett’s skill even if others didn’t fully appreciate it.

“He was kind of hidden under Connor McDavid,” said Gilmour. “And we know how good Connor is. But Sam, we think highly of him.

“All I can say is when you draft, it’s about projection. And he has not let us down at all.”

What kind of player is Bennett? Here’s Gilmour’s description: “Five on five, he plays against all the best players all the time. He kills penalties. He hits. He blocks shots. He does it all.”

Sound familiar? Kind of like a certain No. 93 for the Maple Leafs in the mid-1990s?

It’s not that Bennett remembered what kind of player Gilmour was. Bennett was born in 1996, after Gilmour’s prime days as a Maple Leaf were behind him.

It was Bennett’s father who admired Gilmour and taught his son to play like him, turning him into an offensive threat that is defensively aware.

The conversation about wearing No. 93 for a franchise that is run by Gilmour wasn’t awkward at all.

“He came in and I said: ‘What number?’ ” Gilmour explains. “He wore (93) in minor midget because nine was gone. He said 93, and I said absolutely.”

Scouts compare Bennett to both Gabriel Landeskog and Jonathan Toews for his speed and hockey smarts. At six feet, 181 pounds, Bennett is bigger than Gilmour (five-foot-11, 175) and probably going to get bigger.

But he likes the comparisons to Gilmour, which apply in his on-ice approach to the game. Bennett describes himself as laid back off the ice, but he plays the game with a mean streak.

“That’s the way I’ve been taught, and that’s the way I think hockey should be played.”

Bennett had 36 goals and 55 assists for 91 points in 57 games, good for ninth in OHL scoring and second — to Michael Dal Colle’s 95 points in 66 games — among OHL scorers eligible for the draft.

And he credits Gilmour for getting him ready.

“He was awesome to me,” Bennett said of Gilmour. “He was a guy I could talk to on the ice, off the ice.”

Not surprisingly, Bennett was asked to Team Canada’s national junior summer camp, from whom the 2015 world junior team will be selected. Bennett would probably be a shoo-in for the team, except that he’s just as likely to be in the NHL next season.

“He is an exceptional player,” says Gilmour. “Our franchise is very proud of him, of what he’s done for us and what he’s doing for himself.”

Follow @kevin_mcgran on Twitter

More on thestar.com

We value respectful and thoughtful discussion. Readers are encouraged to flag comments that fail to meet the standards outlined in our
Community Code of Conduct.
For further information, including our legal guidelines, please see our full website
Terms and Conditions.